#Dinnercam: this mini studio will turn your Instagrams into serious food porn

C’mon, admit it. You’ve done it. The waiter has laid a beautifully crafted meal in front of your face, and before they’ve made a step back towards the kitchen, you’ve plunged your hand into your pocket, whipped out your phone and surveyed your food from multiple angles, while wondering which filter will bring out the artisanal qualities in the cheese. Or, perhaps you’ve just twitched nervously and left your phone alone for fear of becoming one of those annoying food-grammers.

Well, if you head down to a certain Mexican restaurant, you’ll have to try harder. As part of its campaign to promote uncapped public WiFi, South African internet provider MWEB has created the Dinnercam — a portable photo booth for your food. The tiny photo studio is crafted specifically for smartphone cameras, providing a lighting boost (don’t you hate how poorly that magical candle lit glow translates in your shots?) to provide the most professional environment for your foodporn snaps.

The Dinnercam (which of course comes with a nice hashtag) also lets you adjust the colour balance before you take the shot, to avoid the unnatural colouring provided by yellow bulbs. Of course, the filter is up to you. It’s available on request for diners at Cape Town’s El Burro restaurant, and you won’t have to use your data to upload your shots either. MWEB is also providing food photogs with free WiFi to get their dinner and drink snaps up on to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, it seems the cam is aimed at iPhone and Samsung devices — a sneaky instruction line on the box warns that “the only blackberries should be on the plate.” Ouch.